English: The newest attraction at Lorain's Lakeview Park is a historical restoration that came about almost entirely by accident.
Maintenance workers removing some bushes near the entrance on the east end of the park last spring unearthed a stone marking the spot of the Lorain Kiwanis tulip bed from 1958.
"Prior to find that, we had no idea there'd been a tulip bed there," said Bryan Goldthorpe, Lakeview Park manager for the Lorain County Metro Parks.
Re-creating the bed was the idea of park worker Eddy Quarick.
"He asked me if he could do it, and I said, 'Sure, go ahead,' " Goldthorpe said. The actual work involved was minimal, according to Goldthorpe. It took about one day to prep the bed last fall and one day to plant the bulbs this spring.
Friday was the first day the tulips were in full bloom — an explosion of reds, yellows and pinks — and the weekend's summer-like weather made their debut a sure success. A steady stream of admirers and park goers with cameras were already crowding around for a look Saturday afternoon.
The new tulip bed is just one of many new attractions at Lakeview the recall Lorain's days gone by. The park's bathhouse was completely torn down in 2006 and in rebuilt in the design of the 1920s bathhouse, and the rose garden, which drew 1 million visitors a year in the 1950s, has been restored with the help of community donations.